Do you ever wonder about spots on the map that are “technically” countries?
Places that nobody really pays attention to?
Countries that as a rule have de facto control over a given area, but either they’re recognized
by one to a handful of UN member states or they’re only recognized by another non-UN
recognized entity.
Often these are called “proto-states”, to give themselves a sense of purpose on the
world stage, the idea that they’re moving into proper statehood.
While you’ll see the more adventurous travel vlogger visit some of them- Bald and Bankrupt
comes to mind- rarely will people talk about how they’re structured.
That’s not really surprising, since much of the details aren’t in English without
a little digging and they're absolutely an obscure topic to talk about.
Today, I’ll do my best to give you a taste of that wonderful obscurity by talking about
a region commonly referred to as Transnistria.
I’m going to be leaving some links to sources in the description below so that if you want
to read more about it, you can!
Today formally called the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, the government was formed out of
functionally nothing into a semi-Presidential system.
The land they occupy is claimed by the government of Moldova, and the region is just a tiny
bit bigger than the Emirate of Dubai.
So how did this little slice of Soviet kitsch come to be?
To put it briefly, the eastern portion of the former Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic
around Tiraspol utilized the existing worker council system within the Soviet Union to
organize what would become a national strike against proposed language laws which would
have made Moldovan the only official language of the Moldovan SSR.
These worker councils banded together to form a “United Work Council”, which formed
on the basis of maintaining ties to Moscow, even when Moscow refused to recognize them
as a legitimate government.
A war from 1990 to 1992 saw a series of ceasefires declared, eventually with a Russian battalion
stationed for peacekeeping purposes which remains to this day.
The region became mostly under de facto control of the Pridnestrovian Moldavan Soviet Socialist
Republic, the PMSSR.
Due to its status of not being a Republic during the Soviet Union, they had no Soviet
structures like Moldova, Estonia, or other Republics.
The territory’s first election happened in 1990, with Igor Smirnov being elected to
the highest position in the country at the time.
When the time came for the PMSSR to be dissolved and the PMR to be formed, Smirnov became the
first President of the new Republic.
In the election of 1995, Igor almost ran unopposed.
His opponent Vladimir Malakhov almost dropped out, and the Parliament allegedly made an
amendment to the election law to allow for the President to run unopposed if that needed
to happen.
This did not end up happening, and Vladimir Malakhov obtained almost 20% of the popular
vote.
Interestingly, at the Presidential level there is a “None of the Above” option for voters
to choose from, and most candidates run unaffiliated to a particular party at the Presidential
level.
In the latest election of 2016 the only affiliated candidate ran with the Communist Party.
In the legislative assembly, they have had one transition of power to a former opposition
party from the faction under Igor Smirnov that first ran the territory.
Some analysts say that this is not a true opposition party but another side of the so-called
“Smirnov faction”- I can’t answer whether it is or isn’t.
Although the unrecognized state has a Soviet hammer and sickle on its flag, a lot of murals,
Lenin statues, and even an emblem evoking the Soviet past, the nation proclaims to be
a market economy.
The governing party is said to be pro-business as well.
Sheriff, one of the nation's largest companies, owns among other things a radio station, a
movie theatre, a chain of grocery stores, a football club- soccer club for you Americans,
and more.
Another interesting little fact is that due to the nature of the state being unrecognized,
many of the residents in the region have multiple passports- being eligible for Russian, Ukranian,
or Moldovan depending on their background.
Another very interesting little tidbit- coins.
I used to collect coins, and I kept seeing that Transnistria produces a lot of very interesting
collectable coinage - some made of plastic and some made of actual metals.
Many of these are decorative and depict various ci ties across the nation.
Never got my hands on any, but I’m sure both the commemorative coins and the plastic
are still for sale somewhere.
So you might be wondering, how does the Moldovan government deal with the territory especially
given their EU ambitions?
In recent years they’ve had a policy to not hold elections or campaign in territories
controlled by the breakaway state, and Transnistria has abided by similar regulations.
There is also a joint security zone with Russian, Transnistrian, and Moldovan troops.
Negotiations to end the conflict and integrate Transnistria back into Moldova have been ongoing
and are currently under the so-called “5+2 Format”.
The Moldovan government since signing an Association Agreement with the EU has allowed for a potential
opening for goods from Transnistria into Europe.
Due to businesses in Transnistria needing to be registered in Moldova to continue their
work abroad, this makes sense.
Even so, there are issues and the economic relationship is very much a dance, stringing
from one crisis to the next.
Along the border there have been several attempts by European authorities to rein in criminal
activity, including smuggling, in addition to the joint military border enforcement efforts.
Since the 2000s the region has seen a massive brain drain which has been larger than that
of Moldova over the same period.
Whether you call it Transnistria or the PMR, it’s kind of a Soviet time capsule - even
if much of it is window dressing.
If any of you have been to this breakaway country or one similar to it that’s not
well travelled, I’d love to hear your experience.
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